Jays may have to take the fifth

They added a power-hitting third baseman, a closer and an inning-eating starter.

Hello, Baltimore Orioles. Hello, fourth place.

With an 11-game difference to catch the Blue Jays in the American League East, the Orioles appear to have made some strides.

Garrett Atkins hit at least 21 homers in three of his five full big-league seasons, averaging 110 RBIs from 2006-09, with the Colorado Rockies.

Closer Mike Gonzalez had a 2.42 earned run average and 10 saves with the Atlanta Braves, and Kevin Millwood was 13-10 with a 3.67 ERA with the Texas Rangers.

Ladies and gentlemen: "Your last place Toronto Blue Jays."

The question

This being the torch-carrying, root-for-Team Canada sweater season and all, can you guess the percentage of funding our government gives our athletes in team sports compared to individual sports? Answer later.

Dual sports fans

Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and his entourage make their third annual pilgrimage to see pal Brian Burke's hockey club this week.

They will fly from L.A. to Edmonton to watch Burke's Maple Leafs on Wednesday and will be in Calgary on Saturday.

Next, they will watch the semifinals of the world juniors in Saskatoon on Jan. 3. and the final on Jan. 5.

You have until 5 p.m., New Year's Eve, to vote the late Tom Cheek on to the Ford C. Frick ballot on the Hall of Fame Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/baseballhall#/ballhall?v=app_20678178440) ... Kevin Foley's well-researched piece Perfect 10 on Vernon Wells' foundation re-airs tomorrow at 5 p.m., on Sportsnet ... About 15 years ago, scribe Jim Caple, now of ESPN, took me up a staircase to Ebbets Field Flannels in Seattle. It sold vintage baseball apparel made from its original fabric. Now, the Sport Gallery in Toronto's historic Distillery District has Ebbets jerseys in stock and they go on sale today: From a Roy Hobbs' New York Knights sweater to the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Havana Cubans, Hawaii Islanders and the same style uniform Babe Ruth wore with the Providence Grays in 1914.

Remember

Eddie Ferenz, 74, Philadelphia Phillies' travelling secretary from 1970-99 died this week. Ferenz was born and raised in Lethbridge, moved to Philly as the P.A. announcer for the Phillies and Flyers in 1960s. Just a wonderful man ... Did the Phillies have a rule that you had to be a great guy and have fun to be hired? Uncle Huey Alexander, Paul Owens, Harry Kalas, John Vukovich and Ferenz. All great people. All gone. It does not seem fair ... Separated at birth: Alex Anthopoulos and Saverio Guerra, who played Bob on the TV sitcom Becker ... Zechery Zinicola, the Jays' Rule V selection from the Washington Nationals, is named after Zecheria, a book in the old testament of the bible.

There and here

Did the Argos decide they couldn't move to BMO Field because the field was too small, or because there were too many seats? ... From the Omaha World-Herald: "Major League Soccer wants to put a team in Montreal. A fair exchange. Canada gave us mad cow disease, we give them soccer. It could succeed if done right. Players will need to carry sticks, wear skates and you had better call the ball a puck." Oh, yeah. And to the Omaha World-Herald: There is MLS in Canada. Ever heard of Toronto FC?

Halladay season

A reader compared Roy Halladay's exit to Vince Carter's this week. Halladay was not signalling opposing hitters what pitch was coming in September with two out and the bases loaded. Carter was accused of telling the opposing bench what the in-bounds play was in the last minute ... One of Ottawa's top crime fighters, Len Trombley, wants to know, with Halladay gone, who will handle hostage negotiations outside banks for Toronto's finest, as the right-hander did in commercials? ... Unanswered question: How many deals did Halladay negate by refusing to waive his no-trade? ... The Phillies are a tad better with Halladay over Lee in 2010, but much better from 2011-13 with Halladay signed. The Phillies did not think they could re-sign Lee.

Farewell

To George Michael, from Washington, D.C., who died this week at age 70. Michael was D.C. sports. The George Michael Sports Machine featured highlights before the nightly shows did. He spoke for a city and a region as few other broadcasters we knew. He would cover the Redskins or a rodeo with the same passion. Local sportscasts used to be like that before ESPN shunted them to the side.

The answer

Most Canadians have participated in a team sport. Yet only 17% of core athletic funding goes to team sports. Including participants, volunteers and fans, 24 million Canadian are involved in team sports, while 10 million are involved in individual sports, according to the newly formed Canadian Team Sports Coalition. The Benefits of Team Sport to Canadian Sport has been posted (CanadaTeamSports.ca) and shows that seven of the top 10 most popular sports (on participation) are team sports. It's not a case of taking from individual sports, but rather adding funding to team sports.

And finally

The Jays finished the decade 13 games below sea level with one second-place finish, six in third-place, two fourth-place and a last-place finish ... And hey, whatever happened to Billy Koch, who had the Jays' first win of the decade?